A source told Radar Online that when Tina first heard of Joe's alleged infidelities with a hot 21-year-old guy, she went off the deep end.

To be fair, when you've been married to a guy for 35 years, that's sort of a fair reaction -- so long as you keep your revenge fantasy a fantasy, which she ultimately did.

“Tina was so distraught when she found out about Joe’s secret gay affair, she immediately wrote a suicide note. It was fairly detailed and she said she wanted to shoot herself for what Joe had done to their 35-year marriage," the source said. "Worse still, Tina wanted to shoot Joe as well. She was just so angry with him."

That whole "worse still" part is debatable. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. By a man. With a man.

"But, instead of killing herself, Tina headed straight to a New York hotel to confront Joe," the source continued. "However, when Joe returned to the Encino home in Los Angeles they shared, he found the note, made a copy and gave it to his divorce lawyer as a bargaining tool for the settlement."

Right. Because apparently the misery and humiliation of the woman who loved you and reared the offspring who made you rich are little more than chips in the split game. Eventually, Tina offered Joe half of the family fortune -- including daughter Jessica's lucrative Jessica Simpson Collection -- to just settle it as quickly as she could.

(This was all after Joe made himself sole beneficiary of Jessica's life insurance policy, you guys. Classy!)

On the bright side, Tina didn't drive to New York City in a diaper. Give the woman credit where it's due.